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December 1707 (6)
= The Herald of Europe - December 1707 = Weather this month *Usual winter freezing. *Becalmed in the Baltic Sea. *Heavy rain in the Pacific. *Storms in the Far South, North Atlantic, and Black Sea. *Typhoons in the Pacific. Events Of Importte Pertaining To Recent Matters The Hague *The Austrian diplomat Leopold Matthias, Graf von Lamberg has offered by way of a business contract 250,000 guineas (plus 5,000 guineas for each shipwright mission) in exchange for Dutch shipwrights teaching their Austrian counterparts at the Marinschule naval academy in Trieste how to construct Dutch lineships, East Indiamen and spoon dredgers, for a total of 265,100 guineas? Warsaw *Graciously the Duke of Croy has thanked Austria for ‘the generous offer in regard to the return of the Zips towns’, and stated that Poland will readily accept 1,000,000 guineas as payment for formally returning them to direct Austrian rule. Konigsberg *Prussia’s Minister of the Interior Count Heinrich von Katterhern has announced road milestones are being introduced across His Majesty’s domains ‘to facilitate military and mercantile movements, and to add to Prussia’s status as one of the most advanced societies in the known world.’ Tangier *The Duque de Alburquerque sent an officer to Commander Farid Qayam of the garrison of Tangier saying that the port should surrender itself or fear the full effects of dwindling food on its population. The town will not be damaged or ransacked under Twin- Kingdoms rule, it has been promised. Farid Qayam thanked the officer bringing the message for that reassurance but said that he was not ready to surrender, at least not yet, since the condition in Tangier is far from dire. Should the situation become dire, then ‘of course I will reconsider’. He has asked for clarification, will he and his garrison be granted the full honours of war should they choose to surrender Tangier to the duke? Alburquerque took this to mean that Farid Qayam was not serious about surrendering, and got a message over to High Admiral Los Mavnas that he may begin operations ‘since the surrender request has been absolutely rejected’. Accordingly, during the afternoon the Home Waters Fleet stationed off the port came in on the tide and made headway as if trying to enter the harbour, but on finding a boom raised across the mouth the fleet instead stood away. Los Mavnas fretted that he did not have any marines, otherwise he could have sent them ashore to drop the boom, but while thwarted in his plan he was content to stay close inshore since there had been no incoming shooting from the old walls when he made his approach. Dresden *Following a private audience with the Austrian ambassador to Saxony the King of Poland has publicly urged his government in Warsaw to ‘come to an arrangement of mutual benefit with the Austrians over the matter of the so-called zips towns’. He also stated that he would be pleased to see ‘my Austrian friends’ serve as arbitrators in arranging a deal between Prussia and Saxony whereby Prussian forces could freely traverse Poland to get between Brandenburg and Prussia, and Saxon-Polish forces could cross Brandenburg to get between Saxony and the Commonwealth. Munich *The Elector of Bavaria is understood to have held a meeting in private with Graf von Metternich. Vienna *Obrist-Hofmeister Ferdinand Bonaventura Graf von Harrach has orchestrated the Christmas festivities for the Imperial family and Viennese court. At the start of the month there was held the Feast of Maria Empfängnis (the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary), with the Kaiser and court visiting the Augustinerkirche, the Kapuzinerkirche and finally the Stephansdom in turn to participate in the day’s mass-Obrist-Hofmeister Ferdinand Bonaventura Graf von Harrach has orchestrated the Christmas festivities for the Imperial family and Viennese court. At the start of the month there was held the Feast of Maria Empfängnis (the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary), with the Kaiser and court visiting the Augustinerkirche, the Kapuzinerkirche and finally the Stephansdom in turn to participate in the day’s mass- es and prayer vigils. The Christmas celebrations then, as usual, began with the Wiener Sängerknaben choir and orchestra singing in the Stephansdom on Christmas Eve prior to doing so at midnight mass and again on Christmas morning. The Kaiser, as is customary, distributed alms to the needy through the Narrenturm asylum, the Armenhaus hospital for the poor, and the Waisenhaus orphanage. Finally, at the end of the month, New Year’s Eve was celebrated with the traditional opera performance by the Hofkapelle and the subsequent Kaiserball which lasted through the night. Not only did the accredited ambassadors attend this series of religious and court activities but also those important guests presently in Vienna or in Imperial service did, particularly His Most Faithful Majesty King Pedro of Portugal-Spain, King Philippe and Queen Maria Elizabeth of Naples, and His Serene Highness Kurfürst-Erzbischof Ludwig Prinz von Wittelsbach. Kurfürst-Erzbischof Ludwig of Liège-Cologne. The latter guest was also invited by the Bischof von Wien, Franz Anton Graf von Harrach to preside and officiate during some of the Christmas services, at the end of which Hofkanzler Johann Friedrich Freiherr von Seilern was observed having a private word with His Eminence. Samana *Prince Bajjha Singh of Samana has agreed to discuss certain matters with the Moghul ambassador Tarbiyat Khan Birlas in private this month. Lisbon *The gentlemen of the Cortez of Portugal have complained that they have been sitting in session for too long and need a break, especially given the dire economic situation which has made them anxious to see to the affairs of their own country estates and the like! Similar sentiments are also being expressed by the grandees of the other assembles of the Twin-Kingdoms. Moscow *Tsar Peter has held a Christmas banquet at the Kremlin Palace. Guests included foreign ambassadors and members of his court. His Highness thank Daeng Praya for his gift. “Truly your lord is a great man,” the Tsar remarked. During the banquet Tsar Peter stood up and delivered this speech: “Noble guests, of my realm and from others, I give you my blessings and greetings at this joyous time of year. These last months have marked a change in my lands, the darkness of the threat of war has passed and the only thing we send beyond our borders is our friendship and our trade. These twelve months we must work hard to make Russia better, strong, fairer! We will not concern ourselves with the wars of others, they are not our concern. But we will not stay in our realm solely, there are lands beyond ours that are unknown to civilised lands, we shall visit them and if they wish to learn from us, we will teach them! We will make Russia, our Mother, the greatest nation of all!” At the end of the banquet considerable sums were distributed in alms to the poor and needy of Moscow. Berlin & Potsdam *The Berliner Dom, a Lutheran cathedral officially known as the Church of St. Catherine is being constructed under the supervision of the experienced King’s Architect Andreas Schlueter. The foundation stone was laid by His Majesty King Frederick Wilhelm of Prussia. The Prussian royal family has spent a quiet Christmas at Potsdam, although Landgraf Karl bid them farewell and went home in early December in order to be home for Christmas. This prevented King Frederick having a chat with him about the recent marriage proposal since when the Landgraf left Potsdam the king was away in Berlin for the foundation-stone laying ceremony. Frederick returned hoping to clear up a misunderstanding with the Landgraf only to find he had left! With no Kassel embassy open here this means his concerns on this matter could not be communicated. The family joined Frederick who returned once more to Berlin to attend the Royal German Opera House and to watch a performance by the Royal German Philharmonic Orchestra. They then returned to Potsdam for Christmas, as already stated. Regensburg *At Regensburg the Reichsvizekanzler, Friedrich Karl Graf von Schönborn has formally brought the current session of the Reichstag to an end and reminded the representatives of the princes, prelates and burghers of the Reich that the new session will open, as usual, during April 1708. However, as part of Kaiser Leopold’s Golden Jubilee celebrations next year the Kaiser intends to make a tour of the Reich and therefore will preside over the opening session in person. This news was graciously received by the presiding representatives. The customary end-of-session banquet for representatives has been held. Fez *Two dozen squadrons of Spanish dragoons have begun screening the Army of Andalusia’s encampment outside of Fez, facing the numerically superior Moorish cavalry who are continuing to surround the campsite. Calonba *Travelling from the north into Calonba the Twin-Kingdoms’ governor of West Africa, Pedro Hoseta Ramirez, met Admiral Hans Anckarstierna of the Swedish Navy and told him King Pedro II has granted him authority to release up to 100,000 guineas to help fund Swedish colonisation in the region. He suggested his government should give orders via his treasury with the annotation ‘to be funded by the Twin-Kingdoms’, adding that ‘this is a gift from the Twin-Kingdoms to our friends and allies the Swedes.’ Esztergom *Situated northwest of Budapest on the Danube at Esztergom, the Primatial Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary Assumed Into Heaven and St. Ädalbert is being renovated after this cathedral was both damaged and left derelict during the Turkish occupation of the 17th century. It is the traditional seat of the Primate of Hungary, who currently is the formidable Kardinal-Primas von Ungarn Lipót Kollonich, Erzbischof von Esztergom. People being Much Admired by the Best in Société *Austria *Twin-Kingdoms *England *Prussia *Asante Union *Persia *Hanover *Ottoman Anatolia *Moghul India *Sweden Shipping Lists: Being a Reporte on Knowne Shipping Movements *The Moghul 1st Fleet of five ship of the line and five cruisers have sailed to Calcutta. *The English President of Bengal, Job Charnock, immediately handed over Jai Singh and that man’s personal fortune to the Moghul Navy. *An English merchant trade ship, shortly after setting sail from Capetown loaded with a cargo of firearms, is understood to have been lost at sea, or at least is missing so far as the authorities know! Lloyds Lists: Being a Reporte on Knowne Shipping Losses from Causes Unknowne or Knowne *None. Ambassadorial Appointments *None. Trade Missions Opened *None. Automatically parsed by LGDRParser v1.0 Category:Game 6